"BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT"

_{Lunch with the Lord
Lord Martine}
martine@sfchronicle.com
San Francisco Chronicle-
June 21st, 2002

Curry & crimson invite visit to Bombay

Like in my romantic daydreams, the highly charged images -- under glass, at each table, dressed in crimson-toned linen -- paint the set for a fantastical love exchange in a techno meadow. He/she, she/he dangles gems, is drunk on spirit and lounges in opulence -- nails and lips painted for the goddesses.
   This, just the first of many pickup points at Bombay Indian Restaurant in the Castro.
   Don't look at me like I'm crazy.
   To mimic the interior of the Taj Mahal (a photo of which hangs on the wall), Bombay relies on three-dimensional cutouts and stenciling. Pale plum, faint goldenrod and delicately carved wood panels make the enviro easy, breezy, Cover Girl.
   Frilly, gold-framed embroideries of silver-beaded peacocks and a copper plate depicting a female horn blower, sync well with the wails of Indian house music.
   Click to and fro.
   Not matching were the ocean-themed candleholders adorned with seashells and anchors.
   My lunch partner spotted a hottie at a nearby table: "Your team, or mine?"
   Honey, any guy that cute, alone, in the Castro, at lunchtime, is definitely on Dorothy's side of the rainbow.
   But go for it.
   People blow in for the all-you-can-eat lunch buffet ($6.95, to go $7.95) which includes lamb do piaza cooked with onion, ginger, garlic, lemon and spicy curry; chana masala (spicy garbanzo beans); pakora (mixed vegetable fritters) and naan (Indian flat bread), among other slurps.
   But since the buffet isn't mandatory, we ordered teases off the menu. Our trip commenced with an appetizer of assorted tandoori (meats and vegetables barbecued in a mesquite-fired clay oven) hors d'oeuvres ($8.95), which traveled to our table popping, sizzling, screaming for attention. You'll need to wait for the cool-down, but it's worth it. The paprika-red chicken chunks and bright green bell pepper make for a colorful, beautiful and flavorful dish.
   Before we dove into the food, our waiter placed linens in our laps. But a below-the-waist glance (napkin check, be certain) at other patrons told me that my cover was blown. Everyone else struggled with paper napkins.
   However, because I'm a neurotic mess, I pleaded for additional naps to wipe things clean.
   The tiny saucers of butter tandoori chicken ($9.95), cooked in a tomato cream sauce, exotic spices and nuts; the vegetable tikka masala ($8.95), fresh mixed veggies in a cream tomato sauce blended with spices; sag paneer ($7.50), spinach cooked with herbs, spices and house-made cheese cubes; and the assorted naan ($5.50) of garlic and onion kulcha, each assuaged my delicate heart, but fueled its ire.
   My only issue was -- even though I was full -- I couldn't stop the consumption. I gave in to my new addiction . . . sometimes, when I can't hold on, I simply let go.
   So call me a junkie.
   What I refuse to release are my desires for the mulligawtany ($3.50), a mild chicken-and-lemon soup; the kashmari naan ($3.25) with nuts, raisins, cherry and coconut; the prawn coconut plate ($11.95); bengan bhartha ($7.50), spicy mesquite-smoked eggplant with onion and tomato; or the bhindi masala ($7. 95), fresh cut okra with onion and tomato.
   So many to sample, so quenched the tongue.
   For dessert, the kheer ($2.50), a milky basmati rice pudding with sugar and nuts may have fit the bud. But, following the hot seasonings, your sweet nature, darling, was too hard to swallow.

EatDrinkSF.com-
Website review from 2003

Bombay Indian
2217 Market Street @ Sanchez
phone: 415-861-6655
Indian
Beer and Wine only

This friendly Indian eatery serves delicious food with sincerity. SF seems to think nothing can compete with Indian Oven, and though I don't think this quite lives up to the Best of the Bay's Indian restaurant, this place comes in as a close second.

The Ambience:
Cozy window seats, hidden back restaurant booths and about twenty tables. I imagine it would feel crowded and loud if it were full, but luckily I've never had a problem getting a table or conversing with my dinner partner.

The Menu:
All your Indian favorites and the standard $8-$16 prices.

The Food:
Yum. I'm a sucker for Indian food, but I've never gone wrong here. The food is hot, fresh, a little spicy and delicious.

The Service:
Very kind and capable. One of the only places in the city where I'm actually remembered upon returning.

Reservations: Not accepted.

Overall: A
Great Indian food without the wait.